In the past couple of weeks, the tardiness of students has become more of a concern at Benton Harbor High School. With an increasing number of students arriving late to class, teachers and administrators are working together trying to figure out a solution.
One of the main reasons students could be arriving to class late is the amount of time between the passing bells. Although the school isn’t big, the time span of the bells is very short. Students may not have enough time to collect their resources that are needed for class.
The impact of student tardiness goes beyond a couple of tardies. With many students being tardy, it can disrupt the learning environment for the students who are late, and even their peers in class. Late students often try to catch up on their work during class, which puts everyone else behind.
To resolve this issue, Benton Harbor High School has tried many different strategies. The main strategy for student tardiness is the hall sweep. If students aren’t in class 30 seconds after the bell rings, they are suspended for the remainder of the day. This strategy doesn’t seem to affect many students.
I was able to interview two security guards at Benton Harbor High School to get their voice on student tardiness, and here’s what they have to say. Calvin Rodgers states, “As being a security guard, I dislike the students being tardy to class every hour. When you're tardy, you miss out on assignments and it can stop your whole day. Organizations are the number one thing and if you're tardy to class every day, then it can affect your performance.” Cameron Booth states, “I’m speechless about the tardiness. Students could definitely do better with being on time for class. I think they should try harder to be on time.”
In addition, Benton Harbor High School is taking different approaches every day to resolve this situation. By trying new strategies to help students manage their time correctly, the school is working on making a better environment for students. There is still hope for Benton Harbor High School to have a positive impact on student tardiness.